BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Davis Finally Swinging the Bat Again

Designated hitter Chili Davis picked up a bat Friday, dug in and took a few swings during batting practice for the first time since going on the disabled list June 19. He had been limited to weight training and running in a pool until Friday.

Davis, sidelined by a strained left hamstring, will be closely watched over the next five days. The Angels don’t want to push Davis back too quickly. It’s possible he may not return until after the All-Star break.

“If he does everything [without pain] the next five days and it works out, fine,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “If it’s touch and go where we can pick up three days [at the break], we’d have to think about that.”

Davis says he’s not interested in playing in the All-Star game, healthy or not. He says he would rather spend time with his family than travel to Arlington, Tex., for the July 11 game.

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As expected, catcher Andy Allanson was activated from the disabled list. Chris Turner was optioned to triple-A Vancouver. Allanson, on the disabled list since June 12, had 16 stitches to close a deep cut on his left hand after Randy Velarde of the Yankees spiked him. Turner started only three games behind the plate since he was called up to replace Allanson. He was one for seven on the current trip.

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Tim Salmon laughed when somebody asked him if he had ever played on a team that scored 20 runs in a game as the Angels did in their 20-4 victory over Texas Thursday. It turns out his team at Grand Canyon College once defeated the University of Denver, 45-15, in an NAIA playoff game. “I went hitless,” he said. “That’s the way it goes.”

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Here’s one last statistic to ponder in the wake of the Angels’ 20-run, 21-hit victory: 213. That’s the number of pitches Texas starter Roger Pavlik and three relievers threw Thursday.